Guild (NYSE:GHLD) Shares Up 5% – Should You Buy?

Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD)’s stock price shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.50 and last traded at $13.51. 2,185 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 11,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GHLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Guild from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Guild from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guild has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Guild Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $830.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Guild Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.90%. Guild’s payout ratio is 64.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guild

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GHLD. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Guild by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 269,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after buying an additional 13,668 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Guild by 11.9% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 653,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,875,000 after buying an additional 69,603 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Guild by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Guild by 419.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 125,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after buying an additional 101,209 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in Guild by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 344,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,864,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. 17.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Guild

Guild Holdings Company originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans in the United States. It operates in two segments, Origination and Servicing. The company offers residential mortgages through retail and correspondent channels. Guild Holdings Company was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.